Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a baler and more particularly to one which has a rotor for assisting the chopping of the crop before it enters a baling chamber and which allows the rotor to be reversed when the baler becomes plugged.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a chopper baler, there is a pickup reel which picks a windrow of crop up from the ground and transfers it to a rotor which forces the crop through knives which can be selectively engaged to cut the crop. This rotor effectively transfers the crop from the pickup reel to a baling chamber where the crop is turned into a bale. In the preferred embodiment, this baler is one for making large round bales, but this invention is not limited to a round baler.
From time to time, such a large amount of crop is moved from the reel to the rotor area that the crop is unable to pass through the throat of the machine. The rotor will then abruptly stop turning. This is termed a xe2x80x9cblockagexe2x80x9d. Traditionally, the blockage is removed by hand or by use of a lever to manually turn the machine backwards to remove the blockage. Sometimes a powered shaft is used to turn the baler backwards. To some extent this is similar to combines which use electric starter motors or planetary drives that allow reversal of blockages.
The prior art of removing blockages by hand or with a lever or even with a powered shaft is time consuming and difficult. Consequently, there is a need for a device to more easily facilitate removing the blockage from a baler.
The present invention relates to a reverser, which in a preferred embodiment has a hydraulic cylinder supported by a chopper baler frame. The opposite end of the hydraulic cylinder is attached to the reverser driver. When activated by hydraulics on a tractor, the hydraulics will extend the cylinder, causing the sprockets to be disengaged. Further extension of the cylinder will cause the reverser driver to engage the reverser sprocket and turn the rotor backwards slightly. After full extension, the cylinder will then be retracted. This process can be repeated a couple of times in order to remove the blockage.
The reverser enables the operator to restore the baler to its working condition from the tractor seat. Being able to disengage the rotor from the rest of the machine enables the bale to be wrapped if a major blockage occurs. Also a controlled reversing motion is beneficial, so over-reversing does not occur.
An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for allowing an operator to free the blockage of crop in a chopper baler from the tractor seat.
Another object of the present invention is to have a reverser which also disengages the rotor from the rest of the baler, to allow the bale to be wrapped in the event of a severe blockage.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a reverser which reverses the rotor in incremental steps, thereby reducing the risk of damage to the machine.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.